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Troops Slow Down Taliban Movement With Traffic Control Points

By Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jill LaVoieSpecial to American Forces Press Service

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, March 24, 2009  U.S. and Afghan forces conducted a three-day traffic control point operation to restrict Taliban movement and to reduce the number of bombs placed in southern Afghanistan.

A U.S. soldier watches over the entrance to a joint U.S. and Afghan National Police traffic control point in southern Afghanistan, March 11, 2009. The soldiers and police searched more than 60 vehicles over three days during the operation. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Jill LaVoie(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

During the TCP operation earlier this month, U.S. soldiers and Afghan National Police searched more than 60 cars traveling through the area.

“We are trying to slow down Taliban movement of weapons and people,” Army Sgt. 1st Class Charles Quintanilla, a platoon sergeant from Agat, Guam, said. “We are hoping to cripple their supply routes.”

The TCP was set up in a location where soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team had visibility several kilometers to the south to prevent improvised explosive device emplacement in an area known for the homemade bombs.

“There were no reports of IEDs in the three days we were out there,” Quintanilla said.

Though this TCP was set up in a specific, pre-planned area coordinated with the Afghan police, this is not always the case. U.S. soldiers often set up “snap” TCPs when they see a vehicle or person of interest based on intelligence they’ve received. A snap TCP is set up to allow units to respond quickly to possible enemy vehicles.

“This is such a vast, open area. If [militants] see us, they find a way around,” Quintanilla said. “That’s why we do snap TCPs.”

Army Staff Sgt. Cory Bunch checks the identification of an Afghan citizen at a traffic control point in southern Afghanistan, March 11, 2009. Afghan National Police and U.S. soldiers conducted several TCPs to disrupt Taliban movement. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Jill LaVoieDownload screen-resolutionDownload high-resolution